Grygera taking time to adapt

Zdenek Grygera is enjoying the start to his Fulham career but admits it has been difficult to adjust to the speed of the English game.

Last Updated: 10/10/11 3:10pm

Zdenek Grygera: Admits English football is much faster than what he was used to in Italy

Zdenek Grygera is enjoying the start to his Fulham career but admits it has been difficult to adjust to the speed of the English game.

The defender had spent the previous four seasons in Italy with Juventus prior to making the move to Craven Cottage over the summer.

He was not rushed into the first team by Martin Jol but made his first Premier League appearance in the goalless draw against West Brom, before keeping another clean sheet as Fulham hammered Queens Park Rangers 6-0.

Despite these encouraging performances, Grygera concedes that getting to grips with a new style of football has been extremely challenging.

But it is a challenge he is relishing and, having only penned a one-year deal with the option for a further 12 months, the Czech Republic international is eager to make further progress.

Versatile

"The football is different. It's much faster than Italian football, which is more tactical," Grygera told the Fulham Chronicle.

"I don't know how long it will take me to get used to it, but I hope it's not more than one year!

"I feel good and am happy with how it's going so far."

Grygera has already shown his versatility at Fulham by playing in a couple of defensive positions, and he is happy to play anywhere to help the team.

He added: "My best position is right-back or left-back but I can also play in the centre."